T5 Countdown
by Rumpelstiltskin und Vladimir
Summary: 100 Tremors prompts to be posted every day from July 7 to October 15th. Two updates a day, from both Vlad and Rumpy for each prompt. (if you wish to know more about the challenge, visit our profile, there's a link at the top of the page) Tremors 5, Here We Come!
1. Burt-Rumpy

**1- Burt- Rumpy**

The very, very first time Tyler Reed had seen him, he was thirteen. The boy had just arrived home from school with his sister and switched on the TV. The news was on, and he was about to switch the channel when the keywords "monster", "incredible", and "hero" caught his attention and he was intrigued. A bunch of people in the desert fought giant worms and won. Using bombs. _In real life_.

Tyler called his dad in to watch. The newscasters interviewed a bunch of the survivors. They talked to one guy quite a bit. He was the one who had made the bombs that had saved the town, the little place called Perfection. And Tyler thought he was just _so cool_.

Right then and there, Tyler knew he wanted to meet Burt Gummer one day.


	2. Burt-Vlad

**1- Burt- Vlad**

"Bossy."

"What?"

"For 'B'. Bossy. 'U' could be...unique. No one's quite like you."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"'R' would be rebellious, for sure."

"Are you making an acrostic of my name?"

"What would 'T' be?"

"Tyler."

"I know ya love me, Burt, but I don't really describe you."

"That's not what I-"

"Tactical! Perfect! Now for Gummer. Let's see, 'G' should be grumpy. You can be grumpy a _lot_."

" _TYLER!_ "


	3. Val-Rumpy

**2- Val- Rumpy**

Tyler could never recall a time when he had been corrected more by a person, except possibly when he had accidentally gotten into a discussion about Star Trek time travel with Larry. But that was a dark, dark day and Tyler didn't like to think about it.

He normally would have told the offending person off by this point, but he held his tongue because it was just a kid. A young, brown-haired girl, no more than thirteen or fourteen. And, she was one of his paying customers, after all. He didn't want to gain a bad name.

However, when she once again piped up with one of her small corrections regarding the first graboid attack, he couldn't help but audibly sigh. "Hey, kid," he said, turning in his seat to look back at her. "How do you know all the stuff you are tell me is right?" he challenged, raising an eyebrow.

Putting on a quite self-assured look, she responded matter-of-factly, "Because my dad told me."

"And why would he know?" Tyler questioned further.

"Because he was there," she replied, as if it was obvious.

All of the people on the jeep, save the two grandparents she was with, all gave the girl a surprised look. "He was?" Tyler said, "Who is he?"

"My dad's Val McGee!"


	4. Val-Vlad

**2- Val- Vlad**

He was falling.

The wind stung his face and whipped through his hair, but he didn't hear it. The only sound was roaring and his own screaming.

Long, toothy tongues wrapped around him, biting and hissing. Jagged mandibles flashed just beyond his line of sight.

Above him, he could still see Earl standing on the edge of the cliff. Val screamed for him to help, but he didn't move. There was nothing he could do, anyway.

And then he was hitting the ground, except the rocks were a soft mattress and the graboid a tangled sheet and Val thrashed in his bed in fear and confusion before he could get up. Free of the restricting bedding, he leaned against his dresser and tried to calm his breathing.

 _'Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream.'_

It wasn't until he'd stopped panting that he noticed he was alone in the bedroom. Sunlight filtered through the curtains. It was morning. He was used to waking up during the night.

Val turned his attention to the rest of the house. The sound of hot oil on a frying pan sizzled in the kitchen. Saturday morning cartoons played loudly on the TV in the living room. He smiled as a small voice impatiently asked Auntie Rhonda very patiently if the pancakes were done yet. They would be a few more minutes.

Closing his eyes, he let the domestic sounds quiet his nerves. He hated those nightmares, but at least he had something worth suffering them to up wake up to.


	5. Earl-Rumpy

**3-Earl-Rumpy**

Earl Basset drummed his fingers against the surface of his desk, hunched over a bit in contemplation. His younger partner and co-CEO, Grady Hoover, looked at him expectantly.

"Come on, Earl, it isn't that bad!" the younger man asserted with his usual 'sunny disposition' shining through. "Sure, our sales aren't doing as well as they have been-"

"'As well'?" Earl interrupted in a bit of a grumble. "We're barely doing better than those guys back in Perfection."

"You're exaggerating! Worm World's just in a bit of a slump," Grady responded. "We've just gotta spice things up. We haven't had a new attraction in ages."

Earl slumped back in his chair. "No one wants to see animatronic worms anymore," he mumbled. "Since that Jurassic World opened up, people could care less about this place. If they want to see graboids they'll just go take the tour back in Nevada."

"Hey, you have _got_ to stop thinking like this, Earl," Grady told him. "So, our profits have gone down a little. So, there is a 'no expense spared' park with real-life dinos directly competing with us. So, we both put everything we have into this place!"

"What's yer point?" Earl growled, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"Er, I forget," Grady admitted after a moment, waving it away. "Anyway, all we need to do is bring in something new! Now, I know we can't get a real graboid but we _can_ get the next best thing!"

"And what would that be, Grady?" Earl asked, 'I'm just hunkering you' written all over his face.

"A real-life graboid _hunter_!"


	6. Earl-Vlad

**3-Earl-Vlad**

"Are you pulling that 'I plan ahead, that way I don't have to do nuthin' right now' shtick? … Earl? … You know, I'm startin' to think you're just lazy."


	7. Grady-Rumpy

**4-Grady-Rumpy**

"Oh, come on, Earl. You know Burt owes you for getting him out of his slump."

"What's the point?" Earl asked, shaking his head. "Even if he said yes, which he won't, why would it be a big deal? People see him all the time in Perfection."

"That's the thing, though!" Grady said excitedly, stepping around his partner's desk. "They _don't_. You of all people should know that Burt Gummer is not the kind of guy to be in the lime light. He does some survival classes but those are serious business for him and he never does stuff like take pictures with kids or sign autographs."

Earl stroked the stubble on his chin, allowing himself to give Grady's words some thought. "Even if that sort of thing worked, Burt would never do it for the same reason he isn't doing it now. The man just doesn't like people."

"But," Grady responded with a grin, "he loves his town. And they are harder up than we are. If we offer a substantial donation to the town of Perfection, _maybe_..."

Earl's brow furrowed momentarily. "You know," he started, looking up at his business partner, "I'm probably going crazy but that actually sounds like it just might work!"

Grady beamed, grabbing the older man's shoulder and shaking it slightly. "Now that's the Earl Basset I know and love!"

Returning the action, Earl stood. "I mean, a meet-and-greet with Burt Gummer might not be enough to put us up there with seeing a T-Rex, but it'll be plenty to keep this place afloat for a bit."

"See, you've gotta have more faith in me!" Grady said. "Who's the brains of this operation after all?" he asked pointedly.

"Me," Earl responded with a crooked grin, "but you have your moments."

The younger man laughed. "Come on, lets' call up the old Gummer and see if he's crazy enough to help us in this mess."


	8. Grady-Vlad

**4-Grady-Vlad (this is a day late, I know, I'm sorry)**

"Good Morning, everybody!" Grady's voice boomed from the speakers and silenced the idle chatter in the crowd. "And welcome to the grand opening of Earl and Grady's Worm World Adventure!"

The audience cheered and clapped and Grady couldn't help the giant grin that spread across his face. He glanced back at Earl, standing quietly beside him with a small smile of his own. Earl had always had his withdrawals about the park, but now he seemed just as excited. He was trading a thumbs up with his friend, Val, at the front of the audience.

Turning back to the crowd, Grady continued. "It's been almost two years since opportunity knocked on our doors and Earl and I ended up on an exciting voyage in Mexico." Earl huffed at his adjective choice. "Hunting the graboids that had overrun the oil refinery gave us both a second chance, as well as the idea for this park. We've worked hard to make Worm World a fun, family friendly environment where you can learn about these amazing, if terrifying, creatures. We hope you enjoy it!"

Grady nodded at Earl. The older man hefted up the giant pair of scissors he'd been leaning on, deftly snipped the large red ribbon in front of the gates, and declared their very life savings open to the public. Grady felt an assortment of excitement, relief, and pride rush through him.

The park was open.


	9. Desert Jack-Rumpy

**5-Desert Jack-Rumpy**

Everyone must think he had never looked back. That, once he had gotten all the money from the tour, that he was done. That he never really cared much for the place, or the people there. Just another get-rich-quick scheme. Just another stop to fill his wallet for a bit.

But it wasn't true. He actually stopped, half way between Bixby and Perfection. He looked back. He really thought about turning around.

What did Vegas have to offer, anyway?

Jodi would miss him, right?

He could make his home there, couldn't he?

But settling down wasn't him. Sure, he had helped save the place. Sure, he had gotten close to the residents there. Sure, the tour could opened again in the future.

But he couldn't stay. He couldn't put his finger on why. He just knew that he couldn't go on being Carwash Jack anymore.


	10. Desert Jack-Vlad

**5-Desert Jack-Vlad**

Vegas was so much louder and busier than Jack remembered. Perfection, and even Bixby, had been quiet, slow, calm. He hadn't realized how used to it he'd gotten. The buzz of noise almost annoyed him, as he lay in his hotel bed trying to sleep. He missed the small town life already. Nancy, Mindy, Miguel…Jodi. Even Burt, even though the man had found him more irritating than anything the entire time.

Jack sighed and turned over. It wouldn't do to dwell on such things. He had a new chapter in life to focus on now. Besides, he needed to get some sleep before his meeting tomorrow. To start a new chapter, he first had to finish the old one, and he doubted Mr. Reed would be willing to wait forever for a crummy tour business. Even he didn't have that much charm.


	11. Tyler-Rumpy

**6-Tyler-Rumpy**

"'The Graboid Tour'."

"... What about it?"

"What do you think if I made that just the official name."

"Isn't that it?"

"No, I mean, get rid of the 'Desert Jack' part for good."

"I don't think anyone would give it a second thought."

"Well, what about 'Tyler Reed's Graboid Adventure Tour'."

"It's certainly straight forward."

"You don't like it."

"I didn't say that."

"How about, 'Desert Ty's Graboid Adventure Tour'."

"I suppose it would do. If you want people calling you Desert Ty from now on."

"Well, I need to do something!"

"Why are you trying to change the name, anyway?"

"Because everyone thinks I'm Desert Jack! I'm not! I'm Tyler!"

"Are you having an identity crisis?"

"Yes! What if your class was called 'Earl Basset's Survival School' and everyone kept calling you Earl?"

"... I think 'Tyler Reed's Graboid Tour' is the best option."


	12. Tyler-Vlad

**6-Tyler-Vlad**

Tyler shifted uncomfortably in his seat. His father had waltzed into his apartment the night before, talking about running into some guy selling a tour business in Perfection. "You meet him tomorrow at that Subway down the road for lunch." End of discussion.

He knew his father meant well, he really did. The colonel was just worried. Understandable. Anyone would be when an enemy threatened their family. Still, he wished the man would let him have _some_ say in where he ended up. It was the least he could do for yanking him out of the racing circuit.

"Tyler Reed?" A voice with a southern accent stronger than his own sounded behind him. He turned to see a man about his age in khaki pants and a cowboy hat, his mouth tilted slightly in a visible permanent drawl.

"Yep. You must be Desert Jack."

The man chuckled as he shook his hand and sat down. "Just Jack now. The desert part's all yours. If you want it, that is. Your dad said you was lookin' to get into the tour business."

Tyler smiled in agreement, even though it wasn't true in the slightest. He wasn't totally against it though. He had to admit, he'd always found Perfection and its giant worms interesting.

"Wonderful!" Jack grinned. "Then you'll love the Graboid Tour Adventure. Just what you need to get you started."

Tyler nodded along politely as Jack outlined the business and what it entailed. He knew the man was embellishing it. He had read 'con-man' off him as soon as he'd opened his mouth. Well, that, and he'd looked up the tour online the night before, reading about it on the website that had yet to be taken down. The tours of "active graboid country" had been going on before the latest batch hatched, so Tyler could only assume the man had been taking people on fake graboid safaris and then didn't know how to handle it when a real one had popped up. He certainly was anxious to get rid of it, if the cheap price he was asking for was anything to go by. No doubt Tyler would have to overhaul it to deal with actual graboids before starting the tour again.

"So, you interested?"

He took a moment to think before he answered. His dad expected him to say yes either way, and it did sound like it could be fun. Giant worms and Burt Gummer… if any of the stuff he'd seen on TV about them were true, at least the place wouldn't be completely boring.

Putting on a broad smile, Tyler held out his hand. "I think we have a deal, Mr. Sawyer."


	13. Jodi-Rumpy

**7-Jodi-Rumpy**

"Mr. Gummer! Remember me?"

The survivalist glanced at the small, Asian woman in mild suspicion. She offered the greeting to him as soon as he entered Chang's, which he had anticipated would still be taken care of by Nancy. He didn't recognize her as he looked her over, but she did look familiar. Perhaps she was the relative that he heard Walter had left his store to?

"I guess you might not," she said with a frown when his response didn't come. "I met you when I was younger a couple times, when I visited my uncle."

The word 'uncle' triggered his recognition. "Jodi?" he questioned, a bit carefully. At her somewhat eager nod, Burt couldn't help but crack a small smile. "I haven't seen you since, well, you must have been no older than ten or eleven," he commented. "Are you taking over Chang's?" he asked.

"Yeah, Walter left it to me," she responded. "I'm glad he did, I've always loved this place."

Burt nodded slowly. "It's good that it went to someone who cared about it as much as he did."

Jodi offered a slightly sad smile. "I'm hoping I can really make something of it. I majored in business in college, so that should come in handy."

"Maybe you can help out all the 'tourists' that keep showing up since those monsters showed up," Burt grumbled, rolling his eyes at the thought.

Jodi grinned. "That's the idea, Mr. Gummer."

"If your sticking around," he replied, "'Burt' will be fine, Jodi."


	14. Jodi-Vlad

**7-Jodi-Vlad**

"That'll be $20.62, out of $25, and here's your change. Have a nice day!"

The customers returned the cheerful smile and left, the children eagerly tugging their parents towards the tour jeep. Jodi sighed happily as she glanced over her morning sales. It was only 12:30 and she'd already made almost $500.

"Well, someone certainly looks happy today," Harlow commented as he strolled inside. "Busy day?"

Jodi grinned. "Tyler and I set up a quickie day."

"…Quickie day?"

"Yeah. Tyler does slightly shorter tours for half-off, with guaranteed sightings. The tourists _love_ it. He's got tours scheduled all day, and every single customer wanders around in here while they wait, or after. We've made so much already. I think we're gonna make it a monthly thing. Pick up the slack for the slow days."

Harlow nodded. "Huh. Sounds good. One question though."

"What's that?"

"Guaranteed sightings?"

"Oh. Larry."

"Ah."


	15. Nancy-Rumpy

**8-Nancy-Rumpy**

Nancy sighed as she retrieved a bag of peas from her freezer. She closed the door before returning to her living room, shaking her head when her eyes fell on the man sitting on her sofa.

"Leave it to you, Larry, to get all beat up when everyone's out of town," she commented, handing him the impromptu ice pack. "What were you chasing this time?"

The science fiction fan pressed the ice against his blackened eye, an embarrassed smile crossing his face. "I was exploring out in the desert when I saw an odd-looking coyote-thing so I followed it. I kinda, fell into the old aqueduct. You know, the one where Earl Basset and Val McGee killed the first-"

"I know what the aqueduct is," Nancy interrupted flatly as she opened up the first-aid kit she had set on her coffee table. She pulled his free arm over and began taking care of the cuts and scrapes on it. "You've gotta be more careful, Larry. You're lucky you didn't get really hurt this time."

He grinned. "You sound just like my mom."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "I definitely feel for that woman. You must have been a terror as a kid if you are half as bad as you are now."

Larry laughed, though it was cut short as she applied a cream to a cut, causing him to wince. She covered it with a bandage. "My mom has got to be patient to have dealt with me and my dad. Though, you're probably more patient than even her! You deal with me, Burt, Tyler, El Blanco, mixma-"

"Thank you, Larry," she said, stopping him before he could continue to list everyone and everything in town, but offering him a sincere smile. "You're an accident waiting to happen, but you're sweet."


	16. Nancy-Vlad

**8-Nancy-Vlad (this is probably a little OC, it's past midnight and this was the first thing I could come up with all day)**

"Tyler! Wait up!" Nancy ran towards the young tour guide before he could get into his jeep. "I need your help with something. Immediately and before Burt gets here."

Tyler gave her an odd look. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she replied shortly, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the store. "I just need to make sure Burt isn't in town for the next few days while we plan and set up his birthday party. I am determined to surprise him this year."

"How are you planning on do that?"

"I'm throwing it a week early."

"No, I meant keeping him out of-"

They entered the store and Tyler's eyes widened slightly at the array of candles and hung cloths. Jodi and Rosalita were setting up a centerpiece on one of the tables; a crystal ball with a few flowers and herbs around it. Harlow lighting the candles while Larry sat patiently at the table, looking bored.

Tyler grinned. "Ohhh, I get it."

"Get in position, he should be here any minute. Harlow, get the lights."

Burt pulled up three minutes later to a dark shop. He frowned as he made his way inside, pausing in the door in confusion.

"Oh, spirits of the dead, hear me!" Nancy cried overdramatically. "I call upon you to seek your guidance! Please-"

"What. In the world. Are you doing?"

The table turned as one to stare at him. "Do ya mind?" Tyler asked. "We're trying to concentrate here."

Burt raised an eyebrow. "Concentrate on…?"

"Oh, we're trying to contact Old Fred," Larry supplied cheerfully. "We wanna know his secret pea soup recipe!"

"That is so not what we're doing," Jodi said with a disgusted look.

"Old Fred didn't even have a pea soup recipe," Rosalita added. Larry slumped in his chair dejectedly.

Side-eyeing them oddly, Nancy shook her head and turned to Burt. "Would you like to join us?"

Burt just stared at them for a moment before looking to Tyler, as if expecting him to say he wasn't serious. Tyler looked back with innocent sincerity.

"Um, Burt, ya wanna hurry it up?" Harlow asked. "We don't wanna lose the connection we already have. It's kinda hard to get it back."

The others nodded seriously and Burt closed his eyes, trying to keep his composure. Sometimes he really wondered… Pointedly avoiding any further eye contact, he turned around and went back to his truck. The group listened to him drive away before Nancy released her hold on Tyler and Jodi's hands and clapped her own together.

"Great. That should buy us about three days. So who has ideas?"


	17. Twitchell-Rumpy

**We are behind on prompts right now and trying to catch up, so there may be more or less than two posts a day for the next couple days. Sorry for the delay, it's been a mix of sudden lack of inspiration, my internet being off one day so I couldn't post, and then my computer falling off the stand and the screen shattering (yeah, Rumpy gets a computer and mine dies, the irony is cruel, but at least I backed all my stuff up earlier, 'cause I knew my computer was crapping anyway; now I'm stuck on mum's though, where I can't save stuff, so it's ugh).**

 **Anyway, hopefully we'll be back on schedule soon.**

 **9-Twitchell-Rumpy**

"Tyler, this is W.D. Twitchell."

Tyler looked over the rim of his sunglasses at the stout, bald man. He turned his eyes back to his agent, Melvin Plugg, a look of irritation clear on his face.

"This ain't my bodyguard, is it?" Tyler questioned. "This guy looks like he'd have a hard enough time running away."

The man scowled. "I'm not your body guard, Diva. If you must know, I'm the guy he works for."

"I asked Mr. Twitchell for the best guy he's got," Melvin explained, placing a hand on his client's shoulder.

Twitchell nodded, though still looking less-than-enthused. "Yeah, Mr. Gummer should be arriving shortly. Trust me, Mr. Reed, you'll be safe in his hands."


	18. Twitchell-Vlad

**9-Twitchell-Vlad**

Of all the protected valleys of all the world, why did he have to be stuck in this one? And why did it have to be inhabited by humans? His job would be so much easier without society's rebels challenging his every word and making fun of his attire. He had a professional career that called for suits, and like a professional, he was going to wear his damn suits. Even if it was 110 degrees outside.

'Perfection'. Yeah, right. They should've left it Rejection.


	19. Larry-Rumpy

**10-Larry-Rumpy**

Jodi stared curiously at the package sitting mysteriously on her counter. It wasn't very big, a cube no more than a foot square on any size, made of standard brown cardboard. It was addressed to the resident weirdo, Lawrence Norvel, from some random town in Wisconsin. Oddly enough, not Kenosha. On it's side read 'FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE' in block lettering.

It wasn't like Larry never ordered anything. It wasn't the first time a box had been delivered to her store for the Trekkie. But, you see, this was the first time she hadn't heard about it for a *week* before it arrived. She hadn't the faintest clue what the hell it could be or why he hasn't mentioned something.

So, she sat in the empty store, glaring daggers at a cardboard box.

Dammit, she needed a hobby.


	20. Larry-Vlad

**10-Larry-Vlad**

"Chiake."

"Chi-ache?" Tyler repeated, looking up at Larry with an odd expression. "That sounds even less of a word than tercaedi."

Larry huffed. "Okay, then what about…snamunk? Snunk? Snank?"

Tyler just raised a silent eyebrow at him before turning back to the dying chipmunk-snake hybrid in his hands. He still couldn't believe mixmaster had managed to cross a mammal and a reptile. And fairly well, by the looks of it.

"Oo!" Larry bounced. "I've got it! Chipnake!"

"That's great, Larry."


	21. Melvin-Rumpy

**11-Melvin-Rumpy**

Nancy knew that picture of Mindy had to be here somewhere. Why her daughter wanted a picture of her eleven-year-old self, the woman wasn't quite sure, but hey, she had been meaning to go through these old boxes anyway.

There were plenty pictures of Mindy in this dusty container, but she was either too old or too young in all of them, and none were the specific one she wanted. She even managed to find a couple nice snapshots of herself, and one or two of the other Perfectionites. One, however, particularly caught her attention, and she stopped a moment to look it over.

A teenaged boy was caught mid-throw, up on his toes and basketball suspended on its way to a netless hoop. He was backlit perfectly but the desert sun on a cloudless day. It was significantly more dynamic than she had ever been able to take herself though it still had a familiar composition, but the subject matter was the most unusual aspect. She smiled a bit to herself and took the picture from the box.

When she saw the dark SUV pulling up to the town, the artist quickly retrieved the old photo from where she had placed it beside her door. As she approached, she noted that the man had his usual, "Maybe I could cause just a tiny bit of a ruckus" smirk on his face, that hadn't changed a bit since he was a kid.

"Melvin," she greeted with a maybe-slightly-sarcastic smile. "Long time, no see."

"Nancy!" he responded with his practiced charisma. "How are things going?" he asked, the tone of his voice cuing her in to the fact he was probably going to launch into a business-pitch any moment.

She waved the picture slightly. "I have something for you." She held it out. "I found it while going through some old stuff. Thought you might like to have it."

He took the photograph, his cool smile falling into something a bit more puzzled when his eyes fell on it. "Oh. Um, thanks. It's a, uh, good picture."

Nancy took on the confident grin now. "Better than any I could take. Photography was never my strong suit. I only know one person in town who was able to get shots like that. I'd recognize their style anywhere. Do you remember who took it?"

Melvin remained silent, but offered a quick nod.

"Yeah, well," she said, "the photographer might like to see that, too. You should show him." Not waiting for a response, Nancy turned and headed into Chang's.

Mel leaned back against his vehicle, keeping his eyes on the picture, mind replaying a time when he had felt at home in this town. The only place he had ever felt at home. When he heard another truck pull, he finally looked up and swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Hey, Burt. Remember this?"


	22. Melvin-Vlad

**11-Melvin-Vlad**

"100."

"No."

"150."

"No."

"300."

"NO."

"1,000. That's my final offer!"

"Melvin, I am not building your bed for you."

"2,000."

" _Stop naming prices!_ "


	23. Rosalita-Rumpy

**12-Rosalita-Rumpy**

When she was little, she really liked cows. She thought their big eyes were beautiful, their big noses were cute, their long 'moo's funny. It's said that most girls fall in love with horses first and boys second. But her mom always joked that she never fell in love with horses. She fell in love with cows.

However, like the love for all things equine in most little girls, her love of bovines was pushed back once that pesky love of boys showed up. The love that resulted in wrong guys, worse guys, and dancing topless in Vegas.

And so she found herself, surrounded by cows once again, but this time in real life and not in daydreams of owning her own little farm. And in real life it's too hot, cows smell, and it's damn hard to make ends meet as a rancher.

But, you know, their noses are still pretty cute.


	24. Rosalita-Vlad

_**Hey guys, just an update. While Rumpy and I will be catching up**_ **writing** _ **the prompts the next two weeks, most won't be posted until August 17th or 18th. I will be gone all next week on a camping trip with no internet or even computer access (yup, real camping, s'gonna be awesome). We're hoping to both be fully caught up so we can go back to daily posts. I probably won't upload any more this week, depending, but I wanted to get at least one up so I could fill y'all in.**_

 _ **Also! Y'all see the trailer yet? It's pretty awesome. A bit less of a Tremorsy feel, but that was to be expected without the original crew. Still looks like it might be good, and Michael seems happy with it. (at least so far, it may just be a required actor thing, but WE CAN DREAM) If you ain't seen it yet, head on over to our tumblr blog, army-of-the-mmr, and add "/**_ ** _125202046794" to address._**

 **12-Rosalita-Vlad**

Rosalita looked over her herd with a frown. A few were missing, several more had minor injuries. Overall, it wasn't too severe, thank goodness, although her oldest cow would likely have a limp for the rest of her life.

"Damn mixmaster," she muttered. Really, she could blame Burt and Tyler for leading the creatures near her animals in the first place, but with all that went on in this valley, it was just easier to blame the rampaging DNA splicer.

Besides, they were being punished enough trying to fix her fence from its remains.


	25. Graboid-Rumpy

**13-Graboid-Rumpy**

Burt used to look at the ground as a source of safety. Stay low to it and people won't see you; the best place to hide was under it. That was why most of his house was built underground, why he new every inch of land if his home valley.

But the worms changed all that.

Now the ground was one more thing to fear, one more thing to be suspicious of. The ground was hardly a place of safety anymore.

And it was all thanks to those damned graboids.


	26. Graboid-Vlad

**13-Graboid-Vlad (a group of worms is called several things, I chose squirm)**

The ground rumbled and shook, rearranging sand and pebbles. It startled a herd of wild burrows. They scattered but regrouped soon after as the shaking moved on.

Underneath the dirt, a large white graboid sped along. It wasn't hungry. Only bored and playful. There were no new humans in the valley to inspect or terrorize, and its usual human squirm seemed to be taking the day to relax and ignore their subterranean counterpart. So it raced, moving its many individual spikes in tandem to push itself through the desert soil and zigzag across the dale it called home.

A little later perhaps, it would go explore the odd smooth structure at the other end of the valley. It didn't know the wall's significance, but it was curious. The loud human was always going there, walking around atop the dirt as if looking for something. The graboid wondered if it was looking for the things that made strange sounds on the other side of the wall. Its squirm was always fighting strange things like that.

Speaking of which... The graboid slowed to a stop and listened to the thudding vibration of a new creature running along the valley floor. It turned and sped towards it, feeling both curious and territorial. The new things always ended up being bad news. What else was a worm to do?


	27. Shrieker-Rumpy

**14-Shrieker-Rumpy**

Heat, heat, heat. Where's the heat? Hungry, need food, heat is food. Where's the heat? Need heat, where'd it go? Was here, now gone. Nothing tastes good, no cold food, need heat, where'd it go?


	28. Shrieker-Vlad

**14-Shrieker-Vlad**

"Burt, duck!"

The survivalist immediately dropped to the floor before he could even register the reason for it. Gunfire rang in his ears and he covered his head until it stopped. Looking up, he saw the five now dead shriekers that had been sneaking up behind him. He threw his partner a look of thanks before scrambling back to his feet.

Reloading in record time, the two monster hunters leapt back into the fray. There were still more than 50 left, more being born every minute. No time for a break.

Burt really hated the second stage.


	29. Assblaster-Rumpy

**15-Assblaster-Rumpy**

"- Happy birthday, Jake-Henry, happy birthday to you~" The party finished singing to the eight-year-old boy seated at one of Jodi's tables. The little kid was grinning ear-to-ear as the store owner presented him with an assblaster-shaped cake. Jodi noted that it was rather realistic, if a bit more 'cutesy' than in real life. Nancy had certainly done a terrific job on it. Jodi had honestly doubted that renting out the store and hosting parties was going to make any money. She had no idea that kids would actually want celebrate their birthdays here, but she had sold more assblaster merchandise today than she ever thought possible. Now if she could just get one of these parties a month, she'd be a very happy little camper.


	30. Assblaster-Vlad

**15-Assblaster-Vlad**

"Stay behind the ropes," Jodi reminded the curious customers as she passed by. They jostled back as the large, butt flaming creature huffed and puffed from two different ends.

Jodi still couldn't believe Nancy and Mindy had managed to catch one of the flying creatures alive. Not after one had killed Miguel. Not after Burt had lost his entire home. Not after she had spent an afternoon and night hiding in a tiny port-a-potty with two men and rummaging around a dump for potato gun parts.

A living, breathing, fire-farting assblaster. Contained by a wooden cage and flimsy rope.

San Francisco had never been this weird.


End file.
